DRT blasted on Alamo

Updated 10:19 am, Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Photo: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News

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Customers mingle near the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The General Land Office hired the firm. GLO took over the management of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Customers mingle near the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The General

Customers view the artifacts display cases at the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The General Land Office hired the firm. GLO took over the management of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Maria Guevara mounts souvenir photos on an album while her husband, Jose, watches at the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The General Land Office hired the firm. GLO took over the management of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The couple is from Dallas

Wooden nickels for sale at the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The General Land Office hired the firm. GLO took over the management of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The couple is from Dallas

Wooden nickels for sale at the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The

Mike Staublein, of Bakersfield, CA, and his daughter, Luciana, 8, shop at the Alamo gift shop, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. Event Network, which manages gift shops at several historical sites nationally, has taken over the Alamo gift shop starting Monday. The General Land Office hired the firm. GLO took over the management of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas could have to reduce or offset up to 75 percent of its library’s costs by 2015, according to a recent DRT Library Committee report.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas could have to reduce or offset up to 75 percent of its library’s costs by 2015, according to a recent DRT Library Committee report.

Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News

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We welcome Councilman Diego Bernal's proposal for a comprehensive master plan for the Alamo and Alamo Plaza.

We welcome Councilman Diego Bernal's proposal for a comprehensive master plan for the Alamo and Alamo Plaza.

Photo: Bill Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

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SLUG: Alamo-Mexican Senator-Photo Request 55991-December 22, 2011-San Antonio, Texas---Daughters of the Republic of Texas President General Karen Thompson speaks during a presentation to Mexican Senator Jesus Ramon at the Alamo Thursday.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas testified in Austin last spring. Now it's time for the group to prove it can manage the Alamo.

The Daughters of the Republic of Texas testified in Austin last spring. Now it's time for the group to prove it can manage the Alamo.

Photo: Staff, Lisa Krantz

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State Senator Jeff Wentworth winks at Karen Thompson (far right), Historian General of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, after clarifying something she said. The Daughters and others testify on bills relating to the preservation and maintenance of the Alamo in front of the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism in the Capital Extension in Austin on April 6.

State Senator Jeff Wentworth winks at Karen Thompson (far right), Historian General of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, after clarifying something she said. The Daughters and others testify on bills

Chandler Wahrmund, 16, recites excerpts from the Texas Declaration of Independence during a celebration in front of the Alamo on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas honored educators and students of Texas history as part of the 175th anniversary of the state's independence.

Chandler Wahrmund, 16, recites excerpts from the Texas Declaration of Independence during a celebration in front of the Alamo on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the

Legislation that would give the General Land Office oversight over the Daughters of the Republic of Texas at the Alamo has been sent to Gov. Rick Perry.

Legislation that would give the General Land Office oversight over the Daughters of the Republic of Texas at the Alamo has been sent to Gov. Rick Perry.

Photo: Billy Calzada/Express-News

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The Alamo shrine in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 19, 2011. A decision on the use of the Alamo as a trademark was reached by the state's General Land Office and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas earlier this month. The trademark willl be owned by the state. BILLY CALZADA / gcalzada@express-news.net less

The Alamo shrine in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 19, 2011. A decision on the use of the Alamo as a trademark was reached by the state's General Land Office and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas earlier this ... more

Photo: BILLY CALZADA, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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The Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas honored educators and students of Texas history as part of the 175th anniversary of the state's independence during a celebration in front of the Alamo on Wednesday, March 2, 2011. The chapter's president, Jeanie Travis, is at the podium.

The Alamo Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas honored educators and students of Texas history as part of the 175th anniversary of the state's independence during a celebration in front of

A blistering report released Tuesday by the Texas attorney general's office outlines a long list of problems and dysfunctions in the past management of the Alamo by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

In a 38-page report to the Legislature, the attorney general's office accuses the DRT of misappropriation of state funds; failure to care for the shrine; and improper claims of ownership of “historic artifacts.”

The report points out problems have been mostly with the organization's leadership, and not the more than 7,000 DRT members who devote “countless volunteer hours” to preservation and education.

“It should be noted that the misconduct detailed in this report is largely attributable to the DRT's leadership — and that conduct should not detract from the individual DRT members who tirelessly and selflessly served the Alamo for over a century,” the report states.

DRT President Karen Thompson, who received a verbal summary of the report Friday from First Assistant Attorney General Daniel Hodge, said she saw the report for the first time Tuesday night.

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“This evening, we learned from the news media that after two and a half years, the OAG has released a report regarding our organization,” Thompson said in a statement. “We are very disappointed that our organization did not receive the courtesy of a copy directly from Greg Abbott's office.

“Further, DRT is shocked at the outrageously inaccurate conclusions within the report,” she said. “It is important to note that the OAG report contains no required changes for DRT to be compliant with State law.”

She said the OAG report focuses on issues identified nearly three years ago that already have been resolved.

“It seems that this report, which includes only interviews with disavowed members and former employees, is not an accurate description of DRT in 2012,” Thompson said in the statement.

She added that OAG investigators denied five requests in the past two years to meet with DRT leadership and staff.

The document, posted on the attorney general's website late Tuesday, summarizes findings from an 18-month investigation of the DRT's Alamo operations that began in 2010. During that time, the Legislature passed a law transferring Alamo custodianship from the DRT to the Texas General Land Office.

The Daughters, who had been the shrine's custodian since 1905, remain at the Alamo, providing daily operations under a state contract set to expire in mid-2013. Because the Legislature removed the DRT as custodian, the AG's office “agreed to refrain from pursuing legal action against the DRT in court,” the report says.

It outlines a complaint that the DRT co-mingled Alamo gift shop proceeds that are designated for repairs and maintenance with unrestricted state dollars and even the group's private funds, and used state Alamo funds to cover more than $56,000 in DRT legal fees and pay a $150,000 debt for a marketing contract.

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Read the full report by the attorney general's office on the DRT's handling of the Alamo.

“Financial ledgers ... were largely in a state of disarray,” the report shows, noting the Alamo was in “financial distress” in 2011, as the DRT did not decrease expenses amid a drop in gift shop sales.

The group is chastised for failing to plan and raise funds for structural preservation, and for disregarding engineers' reports outlining concerns about cracks in the Alamo's concrete roof, which had been leaking since 1997.

The report notes that “no testing actually occurred until the governor's office instructed the DRT to confirm whether the public could safely visit the Alamo.”

DRT leaders “refused to back down” when Gov. Rick Perry's office challenged the group's application for a trademark on the words “the Alamo,” and gave “misleading” responses in legislative hearings, according to the document.

They also violated DRT bylaws and the Texas Business Organizations Code in entering a $900,000 marketing contract with a California firm and failing to release information requested by members.

The Daughters are accused of “improperly” using state funds to run the DRT Library on the state-owned Alamo complex and are criticized for planning a $10 million library expansion while programming $1.6 million for historic preservation.

“By utilizing state funds to support the DRT Library, the DRT misappropriated state resources for its own benefit and diverted public dollars that should have been used to support the Alamo,” the report reads.

It continues that the Daughters “purported to own the Alamo's historic relics.”

“In the absence of documentation” of a donor's intent to give an item to the DRT, “it must be presumed that a donation to the Alamo collection was a gift to the state of Texas,” the attorney general's office said.

Land Office spokesman Mark Loeffler said the report marks a “milestone that's important in putting the past behind us.” Most of the issues outlined occurred before the change in custodianship, he said.

“Right now, we have a very good relationship with the Daughters, and this does not change that,” Loeffler said. “It's important for everyone, including the DRT, to move forward.”

Sarah Reveley, who filed a complaint with the attorney general's office in 2010 that led to the investigation, said she feels the DRT's state contract at the Alamo should be terminated. Reveley was expelled as a DRT member six months after filing the complaint.

“It has been a lonely battle,” she said. “I knew all along I was right.”

The report notes that progress made at the Alamo under Land Office oversight include repairs to the roof, better financial controls and planned decreases in state support for the DRT Library, to be phased in over the next three years.

The Land Office has hired a contractor to run the gift shop, and has said it will seek a one-time, $1 million appropriation from the Legislature next year to address an “extensive list of issues that need to be completed and fixed.”